Electrical connector



A. D. BEAUCHAINE ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR Sept. 6, 1966 Filed Sept. 12, 19635 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

BY ALVAH D. BEAUCHAINE wee mfw ATTORNEYS p 1966 A. 0. BEAUCHAINE3,271,728

ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR Filed Sept. 12, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.ALVAH 0. BEAUQHAINE A ORNEYS Sept. 6, 1966 A. D. BEAUCHAINE ELECTRICALCONNECTOR 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Sept. 12, 1963 C k. C l ra I INVENTORALVAH D. BEAUCHAINE FIGH E an 106 ATTORNEYS United States Patent3,271,728 ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR Alvah ll). Beauchaine, Lakeport, N.H.,assignor to W. A. Beauchaine & Sons, Inc., Lalreport, N.H., acorporation of New Hampshire Filed Sept. 12, 1963, Ser. No. 308,437 3Claims. (Cl. 339-217) This invention relates generally to electricaldevices and in particular to an improved electrical connector blockhaving a multiplicity of female contacts therein adapted for functionalengagement with a standard type cooperating connector block having aplurality of male contact pins.

Existing types of female multiple contact connectors used in theelectrical industry present many problems in their manufacture and use.One problem is to simplify the manufacturing procedures involved inpreparing the connector block. Another problem is that of obtainingproper alignment of the female contacts within the con nector blocksduring assembly. A further problem is to provide that the contactmembers can be securely held in the connector block and not becomedislodged as a result of external forces.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an electricalconnector in which the connector block can be manufactured by use of asimple two part mold.

It is another object of this invention to provide an electricalconnector in which, during assembly with the assistance of a malespacer, the female contact members can be inserted into the connectorblock receptacles with a quick upward thrust that causes the contactmembers to seat themselves in proper alignment.

It is another object of this invention to provide an electricalconnector in which the female contact members are securely seated in theconnector block and adapted to resist forces tending to dislodge themtherefrom.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an electricalconnector having a plurality of female contact members seated and heldin the connector block, the contact members being self-maintaining inproper alignment over an extended period of use.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide an electricalconnector having female contact members adapted to securely grip matingmale contact pins which are inserted therein 'to form an operativecurrent carrying path.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent froma study of the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which isillustrated and described a preferred embodiment of the invention. Inthe drawings:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the block of the electrical connectorshowing two contact members only inserted therein;

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of the block of the electrical connector ofFIG. 1 similarly showing only two contact members inserted therein;

FIG. 3 is a view in perspective of the fern-ale contact member prior toassembly in the connector block;

FIG. 4 is a view in front elevation of the female contact member;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the female contact member;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of a receptacle of the connector block;

FIG. 7 is a view in section taken on line 7-7 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a view in section taken along line 8-8 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a view in perspective partly broken away of the receptacleprior to installation of the female contact member;

FIG. 10 is a view in perspective partly broken away of 3,271,728Patented Sept. 6, 1966 the receptacle illustrating a female contactmember in assembly;

FIG. 11 is a top plan view of the receptacle illustrating a femalecontact member partially inserted therein; and

FIG. 12 is a top plan view of the receptacle with the female contactmember completely inserted therein.

Reference is now directed to the drawings wherein an illustratedembodiment of the electrical connector, designated by the referencenumeral 10, is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The connector 10 is formed by ablock 11 composed of a die-electric substance such as phenolic, otherplastic or hard rubber. A plurality of linearly aligned laterally spacedopenings formed through block 11 define multiple lreceptacles 12 for thereceipt and retention of female contact members 14. In FIGS. 1 and 2,only two contact members 14 are shown, but it will be understood that,in use, all of the receptacles 12 will be filled. There can be anynumber or geometric arrangement of receptacles formed in block 11. Forpurposes of illustration FIGS. 1 and 2 show three rows 16, 18 and 20 ofreceptacles 12 which are adapted for cooperative engagement with a maleconnector (not shown).

It will be noted that all transverse surfaces in receptacles 12 are indirect line to (i.e. are directly reachable through) one of the exterioropenings of block 11. This permits the employment of a simple two partmold to make multiple receptacles in a single block. This is a majormanufacturing advantage and an important feature of this invention.

An alignment or polarizing contact is optionally provided through thecenter of the working surface of the connector block 11 and ispositioned to receive a guide pin from the male connector (not shown).The guide pin (not shown) extends further from the male connector devicethan do the male contact pins and therefore makes the initial contactwith connector 10. The inter-action between the guide pin and thepolarizing contact serves to align the mating connector devices so thata simple rotation of the devices positions each male contact member overits corresponding female contact member 14. The guide pin and alignmentaperture (not shown) are also capable of serving as a suitable groundconnection.

Each of the receptacles 12, as illustrated in FIGS. 6-12 has anidentical interior configuration and is adapted to receive and retain afemale contact member 14 therein. The receptacles 12 are generallyrectangular in crosssection with oppositely disposed stop members 24 and25 positioned on end walls 26 and 28. The stop members have stopsurfaces 27 and 29 and are spaced beneath upper surface 30 of connector10 and extend toward the central interior portion of receptacle 12. Fromside walls 32 and 34, cam members 36 and 38 extend inwardly, having,respectively, inclined cam faces 40 and 41 and top surfaces 42 and 43.The top surfaces 42 and 43 are parallel to and spaced below stopsurfaces 27 and 29 of stop members 24 and 25. Cam members 36 and 38 arepositioned adjacent the opposed diagonal corners 44 and 45 ofreceptacles 12 and the distance from cam faces 40 and 41 to opposingside walls 54 and 32 is less than the overall width of female contactmember 14 as illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 12. Vertically extendingrecesses 79 and 81 are formed in side Walls 32 and 34 as shown in FIGS.9 and 12 to accommodate the lateral movement of female contact member 14during the insertion process described hereafter.

The female contact member 14 is formed of electrical- -ly conductivematerial such as sheet metal which further possesses inherent resilientqualities. Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, it can be seen that contactmember 14 has a pair of legs 46 and 47 radiating from bottom bend 48.Each leg has a substantially right angle bend 50 therein which isequally spaced from bottom bend 48. Short horizontal spacer lengths 52and 54 extend in opposite directions ending in substantially right anglebends 56. Legs 46 and 47 continue in upwardly diverging directionsdefining vertical lengths 58 and 60 which terminate in acute bends 62and 64 having lateral edges 78 and 80. Legs 46 and 47 continuedownwardly and toward each other to form spring arms 63 and 65 withterminal ends 66 and 68 disposed adjacent each other and adapted toreceive the prong of a male contact pin and frictionally hold said pinin electrical connection. The resilient legs 46 and 47 havelongitudinally extending rib members 71) and 71 formed therein toprovide strengthening and to prevent deformation thereof when contactmember 14 is inserted into receptacle 12, and also to resist deformationdue to stresses on the wire during or after attachment to the contactmember 14. Furthermore, an aperture 72 is formed through legs 46 and 47at a point just above bottom bend 48 and is arranged to facilitate theattachment of a wire lead (not shown). The two pairs of opposedprot-uberances 74 and 76 are positioned between acute bends 62 and 64 tolimit the possible spreading distance between terminal ends 66 and 68thereby ensuring that spring arms 63 and 65 will continuously pressagainst and grip the male contact pin inserted therein.

Operation To assemble the connector 10, a male probe 90 indicated indotted lines in FIG. 6 is inserted into the receptacle 12. The contactmember 14 is then forced into the receptacle 14 from the bottom. Whenthe contact member 14 reaches the probe 90, spring arms 63 and 65 areforced into vertical alignment as may be seen also in FIG. 6. In thisposition, contact member 14 is then pushed upwardly while verticallengths 58 and 60 press outwardly in sliding contact against end walls26 and 28. Continued upward travel causes edges 78 and 80 to contact andbear against cam faces 40 and 41 of opposing cam members 36 and 38.

Referring to FIG. 11, it can be seen that as contact member 14 continuesits upward movement, the bottom bend 48 and vertical lengths 58 and 60remain parallel to end walls 26 and 28. However, the camming action ofcam faces 40 and 41 on edges 78 and 80 causes vertical lengths 58 and 60to be shifted laterally into recesses 79 and 81. This shifting does notcause horizontal rotation of contact member 14 within receptacle 12because the probe 90 positions spring arms 63 and 65 parallel tovertical lengths 58 and 61D permitting these portions of the contactmember 14 freely to move into recesses 79 and 81. Also considerableresilient pressure is exerted against end Walls 26 and 28 by lengths 58and 60. It will be noted that the lateral movements of vertical lengths58 and 60 in recesses '79 and 81 become greater as the insertion ofcontact members 14 progresses. Final upward travel of contact member 14causes the acute bends 62 and 64 to raise above and snap back over thetop surfaces 42 and 43 of cam members 36 and 38 with the result thatacute bends 62 and 64 become firmly seated upon cam members 36 and 38 asshown in FIG. 10. This seating process is facilitated by the tensionalforces which are built up in the biased vertical lengths 58 and 60 inopposition to the camming action. At the completion of the seatingprocedure and upon removal of the probe 90, the contact member 14regains its original configuration as shown in FIGS. and 12.

Further upward movement of contact member 14 is prevented by the lowerfaces 27 and 29 of stop members 24 and 25 which protrude over acutebends 62 and 64 of vertical lengths 58 and 6t). Downward movement isprevented by the top surfaces 42 and 43 of cam members 36 and 38 whichbear against the upper interior surfaces of the hollows formed by acutebends 62 and 64.

Insertion of each contact member 14 is accomplished by simply pushingthe contact member vertically into the bottom opening of receptacle 12after the probe has been inserted from the other side as is shown inFIG. 6. The lateral biasing action is caused entirely by cam members 36and 38 and there is no requirement of a twisting force from the meanscausing the initial insertion. Therefore, automatic equipment, such asis now generally used in the industry, can continue to be utilized toinsert the herein described contact members 14 into receptacles 12either individually or all simul taneously.

Once contact member 14 is securely seated in receptacle 12, it cannot beeasily dislodged therefrom despite frequently encountered twisting andpulling forces to which it is subjected during repeated insertions andwithdrawals of the male contact member, or the twisting and pullingcaused by wire leads attached to the contact member 14 through hole 72.Furthermore, tension or pull on the wire lead does not reduce the springarm pressure exerted on the male contact member. The structural elementsmost contributing to the ability of contact member 14 to withstand roughtreatment without becoming misaligned or unseated may best be seen inFIG. 10. The female contact member 14 cannot be upwardly pulled fromreceptacle 12 because of the overriding stop members 24 and 25. Downwardtugs on the wire lead cannot dislodge contact member 14 from cam members36 and 38. The contact member 14 is securely positioned in thereceptacle 12 and held there by the inherent outward spring tension ofvertical lengths 58 and 60. It can therefore be seen that these elementscooperate to lock the contact member into the receptacle in such amanner as to enable the contact member to withstand exterior forcesapplied thereto. On the other hand, it will be understood that aspecially designed tool having a probe similar to the probe 90 and apair of laterally acting knife prongs can be used to spread andthereafter shift the parts of the contact member free of cams 36 and 38to facilitate disassembly.

Whereas the invention has been described by reference to a preferredembodiment thereof, it will be understood that numerous changes andmodifications may be made therein without departing from the scope andspirit of the invention.

For example, there is no requirement that there be two cams and tworecesses. The invention will operate with but one opposed cam and recesswhereby one contact leg is cammed and seated and the other leg is heldagainst the receptacle wall by its inherent spring pressure.Furthermore, the configuration of the female contact member can have thelegs turned outwardly as well as inwardly. Likewise the wire leads maybe attached in any conventional manner as by soldering, welding, or bythe use of solderless connectors. These are but a few of the changespossible within the scope of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. An electrical connector assembly comprising: a female contact memberhaving a pair of upwardly diverging legs connected at the lower endsthereof and bent inwardly and downwardly at the upper ends thereof toform abutting spring arms; and a dielectric block housing having areceptacle formed therethrough to receive and mount said female contactmember therein, said receptacle having vertical side and end walls andbeing substantially rectangular in horizontal cross-section, saidreceptacle having a pair of cam members adjacent diagonal cornersthereof integral with said side Walls, said receptacle having a pair ofvertical recesses adjacent the opposite diagonal corners thereof in saidside walls, said cam members and said vertical recesses disposed infacing relationship, and stop members integral with said end walls andex tending therefrom, said stop members spaced above said cam memberswhereby said female contact member is adapted to be assembled into saidreceptacle by initially being inserted upwardly through the bottomopening of said receptacle, its spring arms then being spread by a maleprobe inserted downwardly therebetween, its contact legs then beingcammed into said vertical recesses by said diagonally opposed cammembers, said contact legs then recovering to their originalconfiguration after clearing the top of said cam members, said contactmember thereby becoming securely seated into said receptacle andprevented from further upward movement by said stop members.

2. In an electrical connector assembly, a female connector comprising afemale contact member having a pair of upwardly extending legs joined atthe lower ends thereof and bent inwardly and downwardly at the upperends thereof to form abutting spring arms; and a dielectric blockhousing having a receptacle formed therethrough to receive and mountsaid female contact member therein, said receptacle having vertical sideand end walls and being substantially rectangular in horizontalcrosssection, said receptacle having a vertically extending recessformed in one of said side walls adjacent to a corner of saidreceptacle, said recess being smaller than said receptacle and extendingbeyond the periphery thereof when viewed in plan, said receptacle havinga cam member positioned on the other of said side walls in facingrelation to said recess, said receptacle having a stop member extendinginto said receptacle above said cam member, whereby bending one of thespring arms toward its leg permits the female contact member to beinserted upwardly Without rotation into the receptacle, said one arm andleg being initially cammed laterally into the recess and then recoveringto their original configuration upon clearing the top of the cam member,the female contact member becoming thereupon retained in assembledposition by the cam member and the stop member.

3. In an electrical connector assembly, a female connector comprising afemale contact member having a pair of upwardly extending legs joined atthe lower ends thereof and bent inwardly and downwardly at the upperends thereof to form abutting spring arms; and a dielectric blockhousing having a receptacle formed therethrough to receive and mountsaid female contact member therein, said receptacle having vertical sideand end walls and being substantially rectangular in horizontalcross-section, said receptacle having a pair of vertically extendingrecesses formed in said side Walls adjacent diagonal corners of saidreceptacle, said recesses being smaller than said receptacle andextending beyond the periphery thereof when viewed in plan, saidreceptacle having a pair of cam members positioned on said side walls infacing relation to said recesses, said receptacle having a stop memberextending into said receptacle above said cam members, whereby bendingthe spring arms toward their respective legs permits the female contactmember to be inserted upwardly without rotation into the receptacle, thearms and legs being initially cammed laterally into the recesses andthen recovering to their original configuration upon clearing the topsof the cam members, the female contact mem'ber becoming thereuponretained in assembled position by the cam members and the stop member.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,688,123 8/1954Benham et al 339217 X 2,980,881 4/1961 McKee 339217 X 3,047,831 7/1962Majewski 339--217 X FOREIGN PATENTS 531,393 9/1954 Belgium. 896,1055/1962 Great Britain.

BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner.

PATRICK A. CLIFFORD, Examiner.

1. AN ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY COMPRISING: A FEMALE CONTACT MEMBERHAVING A PAIR OF UPWARDLY DIVERGING LEGS CONNECTED AT THE LOWER ENDSTHEREOF AND BENT INWARDLY AND DOWNWARDLY AT THE UPPER ENDS THEREOF TOFORM ABUTTING SPRING ARMS; AND A DIELECTRIC BLOCK HOUSING HAVING ARECEPTACLE FORMED THERETHROUGH TO RECEIVE AND MOUNTED SAID FEMALECONTACT MEMBER THEREIN, SAID RECEPTACLE HAVING VERTICAL SIDE AND ENDWALLS AND BEING SUBSTANTIALLY RECTANGULAR IN HORIZONTAL CROSS-SECTION,SAID RECEPTACLE HAVING A PAIR OF CAM MEMBERS ADAJCENT DIAGONAL CORNERSTHEREOF INTEGRAL WITH SAID SIDE WALLS, SAID RECEPTACLE HAVING A PAIR OFVERTICAL RECESSES ADJACENT THE OPPOSITE DIAGONAL CORNERS THEREOF IN SAIDSIDE WALLS, CAM MEMBERS AND SAID VERTICAL RECESSES DISPOSED IN FACINGRELATIONSHIP, AND STOP MEMBERS INTEGRAL WITH SAID END WALLS ANDEXTENDING THEREFROM, SAID STOP MEMBERS SPACED ABOVE SAID CAM MEMBERSWHEREBY SAID FEMALE CONTACT MEMBER IS ADAPTED TO BE ASSEMBLED INTO SAIDRECEPTACLE BY INITIALLY BEING INSERTED UPWARDLY THROUGH THE BOTTOMOPENING OF SAID RECEPTACLE, ITS SPRING ARMS THEN BEING SPREAD BY MALEPROBE INSERTED DOWNWADLY THEREBETWEEN, ITS CONTACT LEGS THEN BEINGCAMMED INTO SAID VERTICAL RECESSES BY SAID DIAGONALLY CAM MEMBERS, SAIDCONTACT LEGS THE RECOVERING TO THEIR ORIGINAL CONFIGURATION AFTERCLEARING THE TOP OF SAID CAM MEMEBERS, SAID CONTACT MEMBER THEREBYBECOMING SECURELY SEATED INTO SAID RECEPTACLE AND PREVENTED FROM FURTHERUPWARD MOVEMENT BY SAID STOP MEMBERS.